Hope
by marejones
Summary: She's always wondered about the Avatar, heard stories about him, but never in a hundred years expected they'd meet. It still feels like destiny. AU where Aang and Katara meet after Aang's victory.
1. Chapter 1

She's setting down a zebra-leopard skin filled with water in front of the fire when she sees it in the distance: canoes. They're too far away for her the make out how many, but close enough to tell her which way they're going: towards the village.

Katara nearly drops the water. "Sokka!"

" _What_? I'm busy, Katara." Her brother's aggravated voice drifts from behind the flap of their hut. She runs inside and grabs his arm, tugging him off where he sits on the floor.

"What are you doing? I was just—"

"Just look," she demands, leading him outside.

He mumbles a few exaggerated complaints before scanning the horizon, his eyes widening when they spot the incoming party. "Canoes?" His voice cracks, in the way it has been for the past year. "Why?"

It couldn't be the Fire Navy. Their ships are big, strong, ugly. But she certainly isn't ruling anything out yet.

The way her life's gone, what her village has been through…the war has left the once great Southern Water Tribe isolated, and bitter. The distant objects rowing towards them represent what the entire rest of the world has become to her family: an unknown threat.

She turns, her voice shaking. "I'm going to find Gran Gran."

* * *

The village stands in a semi circle, everyone looking over the horizon with trepidation. Katara holds onto her grandmother's arm like a raft as the canoes come closer to shore. There are six of them. And they almost look…

"Are those Water Tribe?" She asks aloud.

"Kanna," Tenka, another elderly woman in the village, speaks harshly. "These are from the North."

"I know." Katara's grandmother narrows her eyes in distrust.

 _Our sister tribe? We haven't made contact with them in over thirty years._

Distrust among the villagers quickly turns to disbelief, when proximity allows them to see that they _are_ water tribe canoes. And the intruders aren't using paddles…they're _water bending_.

Tenka moves to Gran's other side, taking her arm. "I don't believe it…is that—"

"Pakku."

Her grandmother looks speechless, for lack of a better word. Katara's head moves from between her and the water benders and back again before effectively giving up trying to figure it out on her own. "Who's Pakku?"

"My cousin." Tenka states in awe. "And your grandmother's first love."

"He was not my first love," Gran Gran says, uncharacteristically miffed. Her lifelong friend smacks her shoulder. "Don't start _that_ again."

Katara stares open mouthed as the canoes gracefully pull up to shore with the help of the tides. Despite her confusion, for the first time in a long time, she feels something she thought she'd never gain back after her mother died.

Hope.

* * *

Pakku becomes her water bending teacher in less than a month. He's stubborn, uncompromising, and blunt. But he's a master.

Katara might feel like pulling her hair out some days, but for the majority of the time she spends with him, reverence for her people's element just makes her want to _learn_. And hearing more and more about the war makes her want to _fight_.

It's not long before she's sparring with the Northern water benders, meeting them move for move. After that, it's not long before she's consistently beating them.

Thirty people come to the Southern Water Tribe that year, twenty-four of them benders, and over the course of eight months Katara gets to see her home rebuilt, and her brother become friends with people his own age. She gets to hear laughter again and stories of how great the tribes were before the war. She even shares her first kiss with a boy named Tiro, which is awkward and rushed but at least she feels normal. Standing front row at Gran Gran and Pakku's wedding ceremony is kind of surreal, but she's never seen Gran so happy.

She masters water bending, finally able to bend on the full moon, not feel out of place with that surge of power coursing through her blood. She discovers a part of herself and her culture that the Fire Nation almost took away.

In more ways than one, she learns how to heal.

The stories brought to them aren't just ancient tales of the Water Tribes, either. Katara listens raptly as the benders bring them up to date on the war, and Pakku shares about their recent experience with the Avatar: a twelve year old boy who traveled North by himself to master water bending, arriving on the back a giant flying bison. He helped the Tribe win against a Fire Nation attack, and—

"Became the _ocean spirit_?" Katara asks in awe.

Sokka snorts. "Yeah, right. He's twelve year old. He can barely spell."

Sokka acts skeptical, but even he can't hide the look of disbelief. The rumors are true. The Avatar has returned...and he's only twelve.

Katara lies in her bed that night and thinks long and hard about the war. She thinks about her father. The confusion and anger about why it swept him away is replaced with tentative understanding.

She's starting to get the same feeling.

* * *

"No." Gran Gran speaks sharply, something she's never once done, not even when they were kids. "I don't want to lose another one of my family to this war."

Katara sits on her knees across from her, intensely patient. "Gran Gran, I'm almost fifteen years old. I _know_ I'm meant to help—I'm a good fighter. My healing abilities are the strongest Pakku's seen in years." She bows her head in respect. "Please. I want to do my part to stop the Fire Nation, to help the Avatar. I want redemption for dad…for my mom."

Katara feels a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to tell you a secret, Katara. And I want you to listen." Her grandmother's eyes are deep, and sad. "I left the Northern Tribe because I was restless, and naïve. I left with the young chief of the Southern Tribe, who was only visiting. The young man was your grandfather.

"I left, and I hurt too many of those I loved. It was selfish of me."

Katara opens her mouth, but Gran shushes her. "I know. You're not doing this for selfish reasons. I wouldn't change what I did for the world, because it gave me your father. But do you know that saying—ice always melts quicker on the other side of the glacier?"

Katara has always had a problem with that saying, and for stupid reasons, but she nods.

"We need you here more than the war ever will." Conversation over.

Sokka is leaning against a wall when she leaves the hut. He smiles arrogantly. "I—"

"I know. You told me." Katara snaps. "I need to be alone." She strides away, leaving her brother silent.

She spends a good two hours sitting on the edge of a snowy cliff, watching her legs dangle over the side. _What was she thinking? That she'd be able to just waltz out of camp, travel to the Earth Kingdom? Join the first fight she sees?_ Sometimes it's so easy to forget others when she gets caught up in her own head. Leaving would hurt Gran Gran. Hurt Sokka. She'd been selfish for thinking otherwise.

She hangs her head in embarrassment. Delusions of grandeur would be an understatement here.

Steady footsteps approach her that evening, Pakku joining her on the cliff that overlooks the vast expanse of her home. She doesn't look up.

"Kanna told me what you asked of her."

Katara's expression turns sour. "You don't need to lecture me. I won't ask again."

"I wasn't going to lecture you." Pakku states matter-of-factly, standing above her. "I was only going to ask you something."

Katara braces for a "what were you thinking" or perhaps a "don't you know how pitifully long a way you have to go before you're ready for war?" Instead, Pakku tilts his head to study the moon and asks, "Have you heard of Ba Sing Se?"

* * *

Water Tribe custom dictates that goodbyes should never be brief.

Four days later, the women prepare a feast to see off Pakku, Katara and Sokka. Katara receives over forty hugs throughout the night, the tightest one from Gran Gran, whose attitude about her granddaughter joining the fight has somehow shifted. Most likely because Pakku and her brother will be going with her.

"You have a long journey ahead of you, my little water bender."

Katara smiles. "Thank you, Gran Gran." For everything.

Gran moves onto Sokka. "And you, my brave warrior. Be nice to your sister."

The three of them depart early in the morning, Pakku and Katara moving the canoe through the water at a fast pace. Katara looks back and watches her village disappear, becoming a dot on the horizon. It makes her want to touch her mother's necklace.

"How long will it take to get there, Pakku?"

"Normally it takes four weeks. We have to be there in three."

"Three _weeks_?" Her brother grips the canoe. "How is that possible?"

"You forget you're traveling with a master water bender."

"What, and we'll be traveling by canoe the whole way there?"

"Who do you think you're dealing with, an amateur? I have connections."

She keeps up the rhythmic motions of her arms, speaking between breaths, "Your friends sure are anxious to see you."

"Really? How surprising, considering there's a war going on."

No one in the boat appreciates the sarcasm.

* * *

Their journey really begins once they leave Kyoshi Island.

Pakku's schedule doesn't allow for deviation. The three rise early and travel late into the afternoon. Katara is about ready to use Sokka's boomerang and hit them both over the head by the end of the first day. At the same time, she's never been more excited in her life.

The Earth Kingdom is just as vibrant as she thought it would be, and after a few days of traveling she grows used to seeing shades of jade every where she turns. It's even thrilling to see _grass_. Sokka eyes the first patch they come across suspiciously, plucking a blade from the ground and putting it in his mouth. He spits it out. "This tastes _nothing_ like seaweed." Katara smacks him on the head.

When she asks who exactly it is they'll be meeting in Ba Sing Se for what seems like the twelfth time, Pakku gives a canon cryptic response. "They're trusted friends, and each is going to do their part to end the war." He smirks good-naturedly. "As will you."

"What about me?" Sokka calls.

"You're here for moral support."

"Great."

She purses her lips in concentration, choosing a different route of questions. "What is he like? The Avatar."

"Irreverent. Much too light on his feet. Childish. Easily distracted. He was also the most powerful water bender I've ever seen."

"Seems...kind of contradictory."

Pakku smiles to himself. "Indeed."

Pride swells up in her chest, which doesn't make sense because she's never even met the guy. Still, she feels hopeful. He could be the one to save the world. "What's his name?"

"Aang."

Aang.

* * *

The train deposits them at Dandaan, much to Katara's disappointment. Ba Sing Se is still miles away.

"We have one more stop."

They march on with their packs hung over their shoulders for what seems like hours. Sokka and Katara find something to argue about every few minutes, while Pakku remains quiet and removed, a few paces ahead. They've already passed the village of Dandaan, and now nothing pans before them but open space.

"So...where exactly are we going?" She doesn't want to be a skeptic, but it really is the middle of nowhere.

"You'll find out in a few minutes."

Sure enough, they don't get far before a rumbling shakes the ground beneath their feet. Birds tear from the trees in the distance, a path of uprooted earth emerging from the ground and headed straight for them. Katara yelps, grabbing onto Sokka. "What is-?"

"Eahh!" A very muscular, very shirtless old man springs from the earth at their feet like a weed, his body looking for all intensive purposes like a screw unscrewing from the ground. Sokka and Katara stare openly, mouths agape. He brushes the dirt off his chest with a maniac chortle, gripping Pakku's shoulder in a gesture of familiarity. "Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe. It's been a long, long time."

"Ten years, it would seem." They bow to each other.

"Bumi, these are Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. They're here to help."

The man, Bumi, turns on them with his lips twisted in an austere pout. He looks a little...loopy. "Hmm. When you told me you were bringing along two comrades from back home, I didn't think they would be so...not old."

"I figured we could do with some lively company."

Bumi's intense glare transforms into a high-spirited beam. "Nice to meet you, children. I'm King Bumi. You can call me King Bumi for short."

Katara has the grace to ignore his slip up, but Sokka cocks an eyebrow. "You mean just Bumi for short?"

"What?"

"You mean you want us to call you Bumi for short."

The old man hops into Sokka's personal space, eyeing him suspiciously. "How do you know my name?" Then he snorts in laughter and slaps him on the back so hard he doubles over before turning to Pakku. Sokka rubs his back and winces.

* * *

Katara doesn't have to be well educated to know important people when she meets them. Pakku introduces her to Jeong Jeong, a once honored admiral of the Fire Navy, Piandao, a skilled swordsman, and Iroh. Bowing to the Firelord's brother is by far the strangest things she's ever done, but the man has an ora of kindness and wisdom. Things she'd always thought the Fire Nation didn't have.

The whole situation is a little...overwhelming, to say the least. Immediately, she and her brother sense they're becoming a part of something important.

When they've settled down for dinner, Master Piandao gestures at her with his spoon. "So, Katara. Pakku tells us you're practically a master waterbender."

"Almost." Katara's cheeks redden, insecure under the gaze of the four very experienced, very perceptive benders. "I've got a lot to learn."

"She's mastered it." Pakku says. "If we're speaking truthfully, I believe she's ready."

"Ready for what, exactly? If you don't mind us asking," Sokka screws up his lips. "I mean, we still kinda don't know what we're doing here. Or who you guys are."

Jeong Jeong's seemingly permanent grim expression somehow becomes more severe. "You didn't tell them, Pakku?"

"They know we're here to 'discourage' the Fire Nation in Ba Sing Se. I just held off on telling who we are, because I thought we should do it together."

"How considerate." Piandao rolls his eyes.

So they tell her.

They're called the White Lotus Society, and they've been around for a long, long time. Truth and honor is their creed, and the only way to pursue it is through ensuring harmony.

"But isn't that the Avatar's job?" Katara asks.

"We like to think of ourselves as the Avatar's sidekicks. Just kidding, not really." Bumi laughs. "The Avatar is a spiritual being whose destiny is to the world. Our destiny is to the pursuit of truth. Right now, the Fire Nation occupation of Ba Sing Se is neither honorable nor truthful."

"He's usually not this eloquent." Pakku deadpans.

"Only exceptionally talented and wise masters of their craft are allowed in, so to speak." Jeong Jeong nods at her. "The fact that Pakku brought you with him means you _are_ a master."

Katara feels the beginnings of tears swell behind her eyes. She blinks them back. "I'm honored."

"So...why was _I_ brought here?" Sokka's head swivels between Pakku and Piandao insecurely. "I'm not a bender."

Pakku points to Piandao. "He's a sword master."

"So?" Katara resists the urge to hang her head in embarrassment when her brother raises his voice in front of the four elders. "What does that have to do with _me_?" Said voice rises in pitch by the end of the sentence, as if he's just realizing his own foolishness as well. He jumps back when a sword lands at his knees, clattering on the earth.

"You've got two days to practice with him. I suggest you use them wisely."

By the time dinner's over, Katara and Sokka take a moment to look at each other, as if to say, _can you believe this is happening_? She's overwhelmed, confused, and nervous, but more than than, she feels...ready. Needed.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it! Lots of things that we love about the show are missing in this AU, and that's the risk of switching out a major part of the plot. Hopefully it'll be more interesting than it is a turn off. This will be a multichapter fic.


	2. Chapter 2

Katara has a well-kept secret, and it's one she's never felt the need to tell anyone, not even her brother: she likes getting her clothes dirty during training. A particularly rigorous sparring session with Pakku and Iroh the next day yields the desired result—her dress and pants are soaked with sweat and dirt, as are her face and elbows.

Iroh kindly lends himself to the practice if not for the fact that, save for a few mishaps and run-ins, she's never really _fought_ against any fire benders before, and if she wants to battle with them she'll need to get a better feel for their offensive and defensive strategies. Especially if the upcoming comet is going to give them a pretty incredible advantage.

That's another thing. _The comet_. Iroh revealed to Sokka and Katara before they retired to bed the knowledge of a once-every-hundred-years comet that grants fire benders unimaginable power. It started the war 100 years ago, and it can just as easily end it for good. There's enough fire benders in the Order of the White Lotus, and this will be what enables them to take the great wall of Ba Sing Se. From there, they can only see.

It's almost folkloric, that this is how the Avatar has to defeat the Fire Lord: while an all-powerful meteorite streaks across the sky. The stakes are so high.

"You think he'll win?" Sokka asked her lowly as they settled down in their tent for the evening.

"He has to." Katara replied. Because he just does.

Iroh deals her a blast of fire that curves, almost getting her in the side. She counter attacks with a wall of water and steals his idea, bending it in a forward jet that arcs so as to take him off guard. Pakku comes at her from behind.

"You're outnumbered, one on each side of you. What do you do?"

 _I hightail it away,_ she jokes. Katara draws all the water from the basin across the field and bends it around her body, shaping it into protective tentacles. Every blast of fire Iroh directs at her is doused by strongholds of water, every icicle Pakku sends her way is shattered or thrown right back at him.

"You are indeed a very powerful waterbender." Iroh says. "Still, you could use a few pointers on how to penetrate defensive tactics, and evade offensive ones. Watch me closely."

By the time Pakku and Iroh have lowered their hands in ceremony to mark the end of the session, she's breathing heavily and her muscles feel weak and shifty, like sand. She looks over on the other side of the field, where Sokka and Piandao are having a spar of their own. The old master effortlessly twines his sword around her brother's, effectively knocking it out of his hand. Piandao takes the advantage to bump his shoulder into Sokka's chest, knocking him onto the ground just as easily.

"Ow," Katara winces. "Something tells me Sokka's getting more than he bargained for on this trip."

"He'll survive." Pakku dead pans in his signature voice, sarcastic and wilting.

"There's no way he's going to be ready by tomorrow," Katara realizes almost stupidly. How could she _not_ have realized it? She supposed she didn't even think about it at all. There wasn't a time in her life she could remember where her brother wasn't there, and this didn't feel like an exception. But for safe and practical reasons, it would have to be. It wasn't safe for him to follow the others into battle. She knows her brother, and he wouldn't feel useful-he'd feel like a burden, and hate himself for it.

"He won't be going with us, will he?" She already knows the answer.

"He will not."

"Then why—"

"Things are not always as they seem," Iroh interrupts. "A new opportunity may present itself to your brother before the comet's arrival."

"'New opportunity'"? Katara asks, worry seeping into her voice.

"One advantage of having a bunch of super-important and all-wise benders gathered in one area is that there is a lot of powerful energy in one place," He says good-naturedly. "It tends to attract a lot of...other energy."

Now that she thinks about it, there _is_ lot of energy connected to this place. Her mind seems completely in sync with her body's bending abilities, and she feels almost overly aware. All through the sparring session, focus flowed through her body's chi like a swift stream, and despite her nervousness at facing two powerful masters, she was as good as she's ever been.

"I see what you mean, Master Iroh."

"Please," Iroh chuckles. "Iroh is fine."

"What Iroh didn't tell you is that some of our members have the gift of Sight, and they see visitors in our immediate future."

"Is that good or bad?"

"They don't know. However, Iroh has a pretty good idea of who it will be."

Iroh puts a hand on Katara's shoulder. "It's nothing to worry about, young waterbender."

Katara spends the rest of the day going over plans on how exactly they plan to reconquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth King. Some of the masters seem reluctant to tell her, even annoyed that she's there in the first place. Despite growing up in the South Pole, where respect for the elderly is pretty much praised above all else, Katara snaps right back at their subtly crafted sexist quips, not taking it for a second. If traveling the past month has taught her one thing, it's that she's no longer the naive little girl who has no control of her own element.

It's late into the evening when she finds the time to sit down by herself and dip her hands in a small natural pool of water. It's not too far off from the camp, but far enough to evade the judging eyes of the older men and maybe even out her constant worrying. Tomorrow is a big day, possibly the most important day of her life.

She puts her hands in the water, enjoying the feel of it cooling her skin, sending chills down her wrists. It's a clear night, and the moon reflects off the pond's surface, illuminating her reflection. She stays like that for a while, until she turns and sees Pakku and Sokka approaching rather quickly.

"Where were you, pipsqueak?"

"I was just washing my hands. What's going on?"

"The visitors will be here soon. I'd think it's best you come meet them." Pakku gestures behind him to the camp.

Katara blanches. "Did they just get here?"

Pakku nods. "You missed our big, dramatic meeting."

"Jeong Jeong bended a ring of fire around them while they were sleeping. Oh, and they have a huge skybison."

Katara stands up. " _Skybison_?" _Wait, does that mean_ — "Is it the Avatar?"

Sokka snorts. "I'm sure he's got Avatar duties to take care of. It's just his friends."

* * *

Zuko, Toph, and Suki are their names, Katara will soon come to find out.

The three strangers stand chatting with Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Bumi when she makes her way over to meet them. They stand under an enormous furry creature, which she gathers is the legendary skybison. She gapes at its sheer size, and the arrow that adorns its head.

Immediately, her brother is taken with the girl named Suki, his face tightening the way it does when he meets a pretty lady. She is pretty, Katara observes, with short brown hair and skin on the paler side.

The first thing she notices about the boy, Zuko, is the scar. It covers the left side of his face, branding and tightening the skin around his eye. It doesn't detract from his handsomeness, she notices subjectively. Then there's a shorter girl to his left, with eyes staring blankly at the ground, partially hidden under black strands of hair.

 _Is she...blind?_ The closer Katara gets, the more she realizes that _yes, she is_. Her eyes are clouded almost, a grey color that's more silver than grey in the moonlight.

"Toph, Suki, Zuko. I'd like you to meet Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. She's here to help young Aang win the war." Pakku gestures to her, and Katara stands there awkwardly. It's quite the description to live up to.

Zuko and Suki bow. Suki smiles. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you." She bows in return, surprised and flattered at the respect they show her. Pakku then introduces Sokka, who stares stupidly at Suki and babbles about being the only warrior in his village, traveling through the Earth Kingdom with his trusty boomerang, etcetera, etcetera.

"You're only fourteen, huh?" Toph asks her quietly. Katara swivels her head in surprise. She's closer than before.

"Yeah, actually." Her voice is embarrassingly high. "How old are you?"

"Twelve. But I'm told that I look younger. What with the blindness and all." Comically, she waves her hand in front of her face. Katara's eyes dart to the side, unsure of what to say. She goes with: "What's your name?"

"Toph. Or 'Melon Lord,' if you prefer."

There's probably an interesting story behind that. "Right. Nice to meet you." She's about to ask why they're here when Toph says: "Aang had a vision about you in a magic swamp, you know."

"...Sorry?"

"Twinkletoes. Or—wait. I guess you'd only know him as the Avatar. We got stranded in this creepy swamp that gave us visions and stuff—well, not me obviously—and he told me he saw a girl. A girl with a blue dress and long brown hair. Darker skin." She pauses. "You do _have_ all of those things, right?"

Katara's brain is positively scrambled, but she manages to stammer out _yeah_.

"I thought so. I know people in the Water Tribe wear blue. I don't know what blue _looks_ like, but I know it's what Aang saw on the girl. AKA you."

"How do you know it's...me? I mean, there are plenty of other girls with blue dresses and brown hair."

Toph makes a non-committal noise. "I just know."

"Why would he see visions of me?"

Her new and awfully confusing acquaintance shrugs like it's the most normal thing in the world. "Beats me. Look. To tell you the truth, weirder stuff has happened to our little gang. Wouldn't worry about it too much." With that she turns to follow her friends, who've begun to walk ahead with the masters. Katara stares after her, something familiar stirring in her gut. It's almost how she felt back home when she was getting restless—a feeling of belonging somewhere else. The sense of something greater waiting just ahead. It's a tiny bit frightening.

She follows after them, settling into pace beside her brother, who's innocently wedged himself next to Suki. She rolls her eyes.

After a short walk, the group nears the large boulder obstructing the entrance to the camp. Bumi pushes it back into the earth and ushers the newcomers inside. "Well, here we are. Welcome to old people camp."

"Where...where is he?" From behind, she sees Zuko shifting to survey the camp.

Master Piandao points to Iroh's tent. "Your uncle's in there, Prince Zuko."

For the third time that night, Katara's face freezes in surprise. _Prince_ Zuko? Iroh's nephew? The _Fire Lord's_ son? Her face turns into a look of disbelief as Zuko walks ahead of the others. What exactly can the Fire Lord's son be doing with the Avatar?

"You two look confused." Suki giggles at Sokka, who must have a twin expression on his face.

"Oh, well, you know—I guess I'm just... _surprised_ that the heir to the _Fire Nation throne_ has teamed up with the _Avatar._ " Sokka's voice cracks.

"Yeah, we were too. But he's proven himself. He wants this war to end as much as anybody, and for the right reasons." When Sokka still doesn't seem convinced, she puts a friendly hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about."

Katara quirks a brow at the deep blush penetrating Sokka's dark complexion, which he tries to play off by scrunching his face and blowing air through pursed lips. "Psshh. Me? Worry? You got the wrong guy."

"That's good, then." Suki doesn't seem fooled, just mildly entertained. "So, how'd you guys end up here?"

Sokka leads her off in another direction, launching into a story that only began a month ago but is one he's sure to drag out. Katara shakes her head in exasperation, and is just about to follow Toph and the other masters when she remembers the stew she left over the fire outside her tent. It should be ready by now, if not slightly overcooked. She hurries to it.

Once she's doused the fire and has taken a bowl for herself, she makes her way through the camp, anxious to find the others and hear the inevitably interesting discussion that's sure to follow. She stops in her tracks when she sees Zuko sitting on his knees outside Iroh's tent, looking...forlorn. Her brow furrows in concern. Out of natural instinct, she walks up to him.

"Are...you alright, Prince Zuko?" She cringes at her use of the formal title. "If you'd like, I can get you some soup. I burnt it, but...it tastes fine."

He looks up at her in surprise, taken aback by her sudden presence. "Oh, um, Zuko. Zuko's fine."

"Right. Sorry."

There's awkward silence for a few seconds, and she debates backing away to give him space, until he says, "I'm alright. Just nervous, I guess."

"Nervous to see your uncle?" Is she overstepping boundaries here? She really hopes not.

His eyes slide down to the ground, shoulders sagging under some invisible weight. "I've let him down many times, and I've made a lot of mistakes when it comes to him. The last thing I deserve is his forgiveness," He closes his eyes. "But I guess it's what I'm here for."

Without a thought she sits down on her knees next to him, cradling her soup in her lap. "You and him were close."

"Yeah. He loved me and supported me in every way in could, and I still turned against him. How can I even _face_ him?" His eyes widen and he looks at her. "That wasn't directed at you. Just thinking out loud."

"You're sorry for what you did, right?"

Zuko nods, his long hair shifting. "More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life."

"I haven't known your uncle for that long, but from what I do know, he'll forgive you. He will." She offers him a hesitant smile. Zuko stands and bows, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Katara." Pulling back the flap from Iroh's tent, he disappears inside.

Later, Katara closes her eyes in the safety of her tent, pulling her sleeping bag over her body. Tomorrow is the big day, she thinks with some trepidation. If the masters are right, and these new guests are the "opportunity" mentioned before, then she doesn't know what the future holds. Either way, she's ready for it.

* * *

The next morning finds them sitting in a small circle, eating hot noodles and tea for breakfast. Her eyes shift from Zuko to Suki to Toph and back again, searching for answers in their faces. Answers to what, she doesn't even know. She feels like she knows these people already, or at the very least, has seen them before. It's disconcerting, but for the most part she's simply confused by it.

Having breakfast with them wasn't even planned, really. Sitting with kids their own age seemed kind of natural, and Sokka dragged Katara along so he could plop right next to Suki without raising suspicion. _That boat's already sailed, brother._

Iroh sits at the head of their little circle, talking to his nephew. Katara's glad things worked out; she senses much love and respect between them, years of history. Almost a father-son dynamic.

Despite the brightness of the sky and the overall calm attitude throughout the camp, there is no doubt uneasiness. While the Fire Lord is Avatar Aang's fight, important victories lie in the hands of everyone here.

It's only when Zuko brings up the subject of Aang's disappearance to his uncle that Katara realizes how dire the situation may be.

"The Avatar just _disappeared_? And you don't know where he is?" Sokka seems mildly annoyed. "Do you guys even have the slightest clue what you're doing?"

"Sokka!" Katara whacks his arm.

Toph takes a giant bite out of an apple. "At first we thought he was on one of his mystical-Avatar-spirit journeys. But we couldn't even find his body, and there were footprints leading into the ocean. And to answer your question, no. Most of the time we wing it."

"Now is not the time to wing it!" Sokka's voice rises in pitch.

Zuko turns back to Iroh, earnest. "Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord."

"You mean the Fire Lord." Toph points her chopsticks at him.

"That's what I _just said_."

Iroh merely offers a doubtful hum, his eyes closed in contemplation. Zuko leans forward in impatience. Katara guesses patience isn't one of the Fire Prince's strong suits. "We _need_ you to come with us."

Iroh finally opens his eyes, his voice low. "No, Zuko. It won't turn out well."

"You can _beat_ him. And we'll be there to help." Zuko's eyes drift around the circle, not just to Toph and Suki, but to Katara and her brother, too. Katara wonders if he's serious in including them or just being courteous.

Iroh continues, "Even if I did defeat Ozai—and I don't know that I could—it would be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the _Avatar_ to defeat the Fire Lord."

Katara both agrees and disagrees with this. The Fire Lord _is_ the Avatar's destiny, and ideally, Aang should be the one to defeat him. But what if there are no other options? Wouldn't ending the war through any means necessary be worth it, despite possible future transgressions?

"And then...then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?" Zuko looks at Iroh hopefully. The way a son would look at his father.

"No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart, and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko's eyes widen. "Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes."

"Yes, you have. You've struggled, you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your _own_ honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."

His eyes seem lighter when they look at the ground. "I'll try, Uncle."

Toph leans forward. "Well—what if Aang doesn't come back?"

"Sozin's Comet is arriving, and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it _back_ from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

Just like that, everything clicks into place for Katara. Why and what she's doing here becoming clear as day, the concept of destiny fresh and vivid, like discovering a new color. Which is why when Zuko asks her to help him take down his sister Azula at the Fire Nation capital, she accepts the invitation. She's about to ask if her brother can join them when Sokka suggests that Suki and Toph try to intercept the airship fleet heading for the Earth Kingdom. Suki asks him if he could come with, and she's never seen her brother look so proud.

After breakfast, Katara says goodbye to Pakku, boarding the giant skybison (whose name is Appa) with Zuko's help. Her brother boards Piandao's eel hound, Suki and Toph behind him.

"Goodbye, General Iroh." She nods to him.

"Goodbye, everyone. Today...Destiny is our friend. I know it."

* * *

A/N: _Tons_ of dialogue taken from the finale and shoved into the story kind of awkwardly. Lots of pausing and playing and pausing to get all of it right. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!


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